1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capsule medical apparatus that is introduced into a subject and that, in the subject, collects and stores in-vivo tissue.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in the field of endoscopy, capsule-shaped body-insertable apparatuses, for example, capsule endoscopes, that have an imaging function and a wireless communication function have been proposed. A body-insertable apparatus system that acquires images inside a subject using a capsule endoscope has also been developed. To observe and examine inside the subject, from when the capsule endoscope is swallowed, for example, through the mouth of the subject, and until the capsule endoscope is naturally discharged, the capsule endoscope functions so as to move inside a body cavity, for example, inside internal organs, such as the stomach and the small intestine, due to peristaltic movement and capture images inside the subject at, for example, 0.5-second intervals.
While the capsule endoscope moves inside the subject, the images captured by the capsule endoscope are received by an external image display device via an antenna that is arranged on the surface of the subject's body. The image display device has a wireless communication function and an image memory function with respect to the capsule endoscope and sequentially stores, in a memory, the images received from the capsule endoscope inside the subject. Doctors or nurses can observe and examine inside the subject by displaying, on a display, the images, i.e., images of the alimentary canal of the subject, stored in the image display device, thus diagnosing the inside of the subject.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-39292 discloses a small-sized imaging device that has a sample collecting unit that cuts or scrapes off tissue inside the body cavity of a subject or a specimen and then stores it as a sample.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-239413 discloses a micromachine that includes an opening/closing mechanism in which a lid member is attached at a suction port or a discharge port of a storage tank and a magnet is attached inside the lid member. By receiving a variable magnetic field from outside and applying resonance or severe vibration to the lid member to destroy the lid member, the opening/closing mechanism releases the suction port or the discharge port. Furthermore, by attaching a non-return valve to the inside or the outside of the lid member, it is possible to prevent the leakage of a substance contained in the storage tank.